Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

Despite these difficulties the UK will continue to provide all possible support to the
OSCE’s work in the field to protect and promote human rights. This will be
particularly important through 2011 in states such as Kyrgyzstan where democracy
remains fragile after significant national and political upheaval. The UK will continue
to give political and practical backing to the work of the OSCE’s institutions,
particularly on election observation. We will also continue to seek opportunities to
update or strengthen OSCE commitments, for example to reflect the significant
impact of the digital age on freedom of expression and association.
The Council of Europe
The UK contributed fully to the negotiations and final agreed Declaration at the High
Level Conference at Interlaken in February on reform measures to improve the
efficiency of the European Court of Human Rights. This Declaration included a set
of specific measures to be introduced by mid-2012. In June, Protocol 14 to the
European Convention on Human Rights came into force. This Protocol streamlines
the way certain cases are dealt with in the Court and will contribute to the longerterm
aim of reducing the backlog, and the time taken to process cases.
We also championed an initiative on measures to combat discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, which was adopted by the
Committee of Ministers on 31 March. This was a notable landmark, as it is the first
international instrument to protect the rights of individuals from discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In July, talks began on EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.
This process will ensure that the institutions of the EU are covered by the same
human rights standards under the convention as all Council of Europe member
states. The successful conclusion of these negotiations will complete a commitment
in the Treaty of Lisbon.
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